The EU’s proposed regulations on monetization are straightforward, extensive, and ambiguous in certain areas – what they are not is unexpected. This is the unavoidable conclusion of a lengthy saga of common resource depletion.
Image credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
When a version of the European Commission’s Digital Fairness Act surfaced earlier this week, some industry feedback had a distinctly apocalyptic tone. The official replies now making their way out of trade organizations following the formal release of the act’s draft are only slightly dialing down the rhetoric; less catastrophic, yet still grim forecasts of dire consequences for European gaming enterprises, hinting ominously about the removal of alleged liberties from gamers, guardians, and others within a vast vicinity.
We’ve all been aware that the European Union has been preparing to oversee in-game monetization for about a decade now, so I don’t believe that “surprise” is the correct word for the response – yet I do comprehend that there’s a hare-and-tortoise dynamic to national and supra-national regulation that frequently catches high-tech sectors, like gaming, off-guard.
While high-tech firms innovate swiftly and disruptively, they often overlook the regulators who are many paces behind, cautiously and systematically tallying up all those disrupted elements. Once legislation finally arrives, the business practices they restrict appear ingrained and well-rooted to the rapidly evolving companies, which express outrage at the idea that they can no longer engage in them. Smartphones, app stores, and in-app purchases seem like established affairs to the gaming sector, rendering it easy to overlook how remarkably new and unique they are when considered within a legislative and regulatory framework.
The draft iteration of the EU’s Digital Fairness Act was officially disclosed on Wednesday | Image credit: Marco on Unsplash
Dr. Andreas Lober has already done an excellent job on this platform explaining what the official draft of the act actually comprises, article by article. I won’t cover that territory again. I will mention that I grasp – not empathize with,
